


Bestiary

by Schmengie



Series: The Legend of Zelda: The Dead Lords [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Gen, Lists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21577327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schmengie/pseuds/Schmengie
Summary: Collection of profile entries for some of the creatures encountered during a long, dark gauntlet.
Series: The Legend of Zelda: The Dead Lords [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1554931





	1. Derven

**Author's Note:**

> This section last updated on **13 December, 2019**
> 
> True to my obsession with _FINAL FANTASY XII_ at the time of writing [_The Dead Lords_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21575755/chapters/51440497), I wrote up a few bestiary entries for some of the creatures encountered in the story. I even tried to play around with the pseudo-Shakespearean style of the [bestiary](https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Bestiary_\(Final_Fantasy_XII\)) as it appears in that game, but often ended up extending my entries past comparability. Many more were planned, but these are all that survive.

Being an undead humanoid of ambiguous classification: either a type of Stalchild still possessed of its eyes and trace amounts of muscle, or a form of Zombie that has considerably less in the way of its former flesh than what is common in its kin. Found in the deepest, darkest abysses of the Ikana Canyon, they are thought to be the Kingdom’s common folk, succumbed to the darkness of the Stone Tower. 

Being weaker in will than Ikana’s military forces in life, they thus are the ones who least retain their sanity, and, always seeking a guiding hand to deliver them from their torment, they use their sharp skeletal claws to climb forth from the deep vallies when the veil of night fully obscures the land.

Their hearts still beat within their muscle-laced chests, though the blood runs cold and simply falls though the many openings in their torsos.

Though weak, they are possessed of a very mysterious and acute awareness of body heat, this being the manner by which they detect the unwitting passerby and pull them down into the darkness with them.

Alone, they are easily dispatched; this, however, is complicated by their propensity for congregating in large groups for reasons unclear. A myth has spread among surviving travelers that, being commoners in life, they are still exceptionally social in death.

Like Zombies, they shun the light, though for differing reasons: their eyes, though long since blind, are still highly sensitive, and always burn, for they no longer have eyelids to protect them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This section last updated on **05 December, 2019**
> 
>  _Derven_ is a Dutch verb, _to lack_.


	2. Elder Molgera

Of all the creatures classified as worms, there are none as grand and revered as the Molgera. Even higher in the wondering minds of commoner, historian, and theologist alike are the Elder Molgera. 

The Elder Molgera is the absolute pinnacle of worm evolution, and also a curious phenomenon, as only one in every thousand Molgera exhibit the potential to become as such, and even so, success is extremely rare. They are ancient, so much so that they are thought to have existed even during the chaotic days before the Goddesses cultivated the world.

Their rock-like, sandy flesh has hardened far beyond even that of an adult Molgera (compare to dragon scales), to the point of ultrapetrefaction, yet somehow losing none of its flexibility. There is no known craft divised by man capable of penetrating their hides, be it weapon or physically offensive magic. Incendiaries and explosives, even Goron Powder Kegs, only serve to agitate the creatures.

Though carnivorous, they are, like their lesser kin, passive, for the most part, unless provoked or frustrated by some other means. Otherwise, they are not unlike plants, for they spend much of their time within the earth, drawing minerals and nutrients into their skin, this being their primary method of nourishment. However, unlike other Molgera, their petrified skin disallows them the ability to draw nourishment from the Sun as part of any photosynthetic process.

The teeth lining their bipartite jaws are the longest and most broad of any creature in the Eastern World, and the rest within their maws retain the Molgera’s unique method of grinding food. Said jaws also rival those of Greater Dragons, the estimated bite strength being in the avenue of seventy-thousand pounds or more.

Their one eye resides within the maw at the end of their tongues, usually resting in the very center. Unlike their kin, however, their eyes tend to take on a water-like oceanic blue for reasons unknown. Theories support the notion that their age has allowed them enough time to absorb magical energy (especially where it most holds sway), with their eye being also the cipher for said energy. The eye itself is protected by a virtually indestructible membrane that guards against dust, outside threats, and its own teeth.

No Elder Molgera has ever been slain, and old stories survive in which entire armies have been devoured in various attempts to do so. As well, none have ever found a deceased Elder Molgera, for, like lesser Molgera, they crumble into sand and blow away on the wind when they finally do expire (though this has never been seen, leading to suspicions that none have actually died yet). Nevertheless, Elder Molgera are not immune to ensorcelments for the purpose of slumber, this being the only known way that they might be studied.


	3. Jailwalker

Tales and legends regarding Vampires trace back to the days before civilization, but there is no subject related to such that receives more enquiry than the prospect of what happens when an immortal blood drinker is denied its required sustenance and made to starve. 

The answer is gradual disfigurement, followed by complete and utter madness. Unexpectedly, however, some of these starving Vampires came to evolve separately into the monstrosity observed today. Called Jailwalkers by modern societies, their name derives from the past practice of some organizations to capture and release them into their prisons and catacombs both as a method of instilling fear in their inmates to discourage them from attempting to escape, and as an insurence policy for when a given prisoner does muster the courage to do so.

This practice is now outlawed in most societies and highly discouraged elsewhere due to the extreme casualties to guard and prisoner alike in attempts to manage the Jailwalkers.

Regarded as being among the most vicious, aggressive, and dangerous creatures known anywhere, they are agile, strong, frightening in appearance, and intimidating, the average specimen standing at no less than seven feet tall. Their bodies are built for maim and mutilation, possessing long arms with a substantial reach that end in razor sharp claws for the tearing of bodies to shreds. Their mouths cover the majority of their “faces” and are lined with two rows of pointed teeth that are perfect for the drawing of blood (though their ferocity tends to lead to them simply dismembering their victims, making a bloody mess out of any attempt at feeding).

Jailwalkers possess nearly all of the aides and drawbacks exhibited by ordinary Vampires, including some unique ones: highly-acute, farsighted vision, night vision surpassing even felines, six eyes, each with separate nerve endings that allow them to perceive in potentially six different directions at once, long, muscular legs for swift movement, the most efficient respiratory abilities of any creature, allowing them to pursue quarries indefinitely, extremely accelerated healing, black, acidic, and volatile blood that is dangerous to the touch, a piercing scream (generally regarded as being on par with most undead creatures and surpassed only by that of the ReDead or Gibdo), immortality, and a potent, fast-acting venom in their fangs that causes excruciating pain, vomiting (of both stomach fluids and blood), extreme swelling in the bitten area and elsewhere, blackouts, and, eventually, turning. There is no known antidote for the venom and anyone bitten by a Jailwalker will eventually mutate into one themselves, in a manner not unlike the concept of a Vampire bite.

Fortunately, like Vampires, they cannot survive in daylight, and suffer fatal burns within minutes—some known even to combust—when exposed to the sun. Thus, they tend to reside in large cave networks where there is no light, and some can still be found in old, abandoned prisons. Jailwalkers generally do not venture outside of their dwellings even during the night, save in rare, isolated incidents, as they abhor the irritating qualities of moonlight.

Being as vicious, unpredictable, and uncontrollable as they are, even the most skilled of beast handlers avoid attempting to domesticate Jailwalkers, especially since they cannot be tamed. Sleep incantations only subdue them to a minor degree, even this being easily broken by the irresistable smell of blood nearby.


	4. Stalhound

A previously rare sight, now quite common in the Canyon of Ikana, Stalhounds are the animated remains of domesticated dogs. True Stalhounds, however, are rare. Those in Ikana, like the Derven, are still among the living, in a manner of speaking, for their hearts still beat within their ribcages. This is because the curse of the Stone Tower causes the flesh to fall from the bones of the living and for those already dead to rise once more. This distinction is oft lost on the unfortunate traveler, as the blood that pours from an Ikanan Stalhound only serves to compound the intimidation factor. 

Just as living dogs are possessed of the gift of swiftness and an exceptionally powerful jaw, so too are Stalhounds. Their glowing, aquamarine eyes can see in the deepest darkness, and they oft hunt in pairs, just as lesser Wolves would, though, on off occasions, they are known to form packs of four or more.

Despite being creatures born out of sinister powers, they retain a semblence of the loyalty they once held toward their former masters. They are thoroughly feral, and cannot be re-domesticated, but if chance sees them in a reunion with their old masters, they will not attack. Being also beasts of some camaraderie, their partners and pack mates will also refrain from offending in such a circumstance.

Sympathetic animal lovers have, in the past, called for their extermination so that their spirits may rest. However, as is the case with Stals, they are simply too numerous today to handle.

It is believed that the aquamarine manifestation in the eye sockets (as opposed to the red and the rarer blue in Stals) indicates neutral, yet feral nature (a theory supported by their status as undead non-sentients).


End file.
